Jan 13, 2014

I'm working on my manuscript edits this week for my upcoming cookbook, so I thought I would share this delicious soup from the archives!

This is one delicious bowl of soup! Warm and satisfying, with tortellini in every bite. Top this with some fresh shaved Parmigiano Reggiano and you'll experience a wonderful unami taste sensation.

Soup is the perfect one pot meal. Vegetarians can swap out the chicken broth for vegetable broth (also perfect for Meatless Mondays). Using the rind from the Parmigiano Reggiano cheese is optional, but if you have it I recommend using it, it adds so much depth and flavor.

And a little nutritional tidbit about mushrooms, courtesy of registered dietician, Heather K Jones. This veggie has achieved superfood status and with good
reason. It’s loaded with important vitamins and minerals, including
heart-protecting copper, B vitamins and antioxidants. These fabulous
fungus come in a lot of different varieties and are very versatile.

Heather has generously offered to provide nutritional tidbits on lots of the fruits and vegetables I use in my future recipes. Call me a geek,
but I love knowing what I'm eating is not only delicious, but is
benefiting my health as well.

I'm sure most of you know I am currently working on my first cookbook, but I'm not sure if you all know that Heather K Jones is working with me on this book. Heather is a great asset to Skinnytaste and has written and contributed to many books for Self, Prevention, Good Housekeeping, and more. She is my go-to person when I have a nutritional question and has posted some great articles on Skinny Bits including The Skinny On Sweeteners.

In a large pot, melt the butter over medium-low heat. When melted, add the celery, onion, carrot and garlic. Cover and reduce heat to low and cook for approximately 8-10 minutes until vegetables begin to soften.

Add the chicken broth, water, mushrooms, rind and increase heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. When broth boils, add salt (to taste) and black pepper; stir to combine. Reduce heat to low, simmer until mushrooms are soft, about 20 minutes. Add tortellini and cook according to package directions for al dente.

Once cooked, remove the rind, stir to combine and garnish with freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano if desired.

Good Luck on the cookbook, I am sure it will be wonderful and can't wait when it comes out. I have tried a lot of your recipes Gina and I haven't found one that I haven't like. It also helps me stay on track. :-)

Since I have started working later evenings on some days, I have been looking for recipes for my planner that either let me prep ahead and/or are simple but still healthy and tasty. This looks like it is a perfect fit! I would probably serve with a salad or toss some spinach in with the broth. Thank you!

Well, I agree with you! I made this soup last night and had it again for lunch today. My fiance and I both LOVED it. I wasn't expecting to love it, because I am not a huge mushroom fan. But this is so satisfying for a vegetarian soup. The tortellini have a meaty texture which works perfectly! Thanks very much for another keeper.

My only alterations were that I added a little more carrot and celery, and I couldn't find shitakes, so I had to use different mushrooms. Still great!

So excited for another soup dish, although my boyfriend has asked for a break. Last week I made the chicken pot pie soup, stuffed pepper soup, chicken enchilada soup, and the spaghetti and meatball soup. I can't wait to try the baked potato soup and the turkey taco chili soup!

I just picked up the basics for tortellini soup the other day, but hadn't yet decided on an exact recipe. I think I just found a winner! This sounds delicious and I happen to have all the ingredients! Yum!

I am so excited about the additional nutrition information. I'm constantly researching and trying to increase my intake of "superfoods." That research turned the tide on chickpeas, which I always thought looked like little brains and I had stubbornly decided I didn't like them because of that, but now I love them. That will be a wonderful addition to this already life-changing blog.

Gina,I am so excited for your cookbook. I can't remember the number of times that I've wondered if you would ever come out with one! Put us down for at least one copy (and many more from our friends when we tell them all about it)!

I'm excited about your cookbook, and you working with a dietitian! My boyfriend and I have been cooking meals from your site for months, and we have lot about 30 pounds and changed our diet for the better. He was recently diagnosed as having a metabolic disorder, and we are looking into what exactly is in our food more than ever. Can't wait for the new posts and the book!

I think I would like try to combine you Spinach Tortellini en Brodo and The Three Cheese Tortellini and Mushrooms soup together. What you think? ( oh I'm 66 and I have hard time no type in the letters I misread it all the time It me 3 - 4 time before I get it right :~(

This soup is fabulous! My boyfriend loved it so much he was literally licking the pot clean... I made a few changes to the recipe as follows:

substituted 1 red pepper and 1 yellow pepper (chopped) for the mushrooms as my boyfriend is not a mushroom fan / added parsley, oregano, and ground red pepper / substituted sausage tortellini instead of 3 cheese (I had an 18 oz package instead of 9 oz - but that just meant more tortellini in every bite!)/ I did not add the Parmigiano Reggiano

Gina YAY about the cookbook! I look forward to making this recipe. I currently make a basic one adding baby spinach as a topper. The mushrooms look yummy and flavorful, plus nutritional. Thank you for sharing.

I cannot wait for your cookbook!!! My husband and I love your recipes, and thanks to you, I was a skinny bride last month! I like to make soups on Sunday and freeze them in individual portions to bring to lunch during the week. Would I be able to do that with this soup? I tried it with your creamy lowfat mushroom soup and did have some issues, I think due to the flour separating out. I might try to make that again and freeze without the flour, but I don't want to waste another batch of soup, if this isn't freezeable. Thanks for everything you do Gina!

I made this tonight and it was very good! I did not have the parm-regg. rind and it was still yummy. I did sprinkle with grated Pecorino Romano and that was nice addition. I substituted the tortellini with Buitoni's Light 4 Cheese Ravioli (1.25 cups = 7pts plus, where the tortellini is 1 cup = 7 pts.) The only thing I cannot account for is when I plug this into my points plus tracker and recipe builder in Weight Watchers it comes out 2 pts plus per serving, not 4. So, I'm not sure where the difference is coming from? A keeper recipe, thanks so much!

I made this in the crock pot and it was delicious. I added a chopped zucchini and a bunch of shredded spinach, and used plain button mushrooms (no shiitake). I just dumped all the ingredients in the crock without sauteeing and cooked on low all day, then switched to high 30 minutes before dinner and added the tortellini and shredded spinach at that point. This is a keeper for sure (and I'm extremely picky about soup).

I just finished making this on the stove and tasted a little bit; it is so delicious! I followed the recipe exactly. Can't wait for lunches this week! I agree with Gina's suggestion to add the rind in, the addition of it adds that yummy flavor to the broth. Thanks Gina!!!

I'm single and use soups alot for my freezer lunches. Thoughts on how to freeze without getting soggy tortellini? Freeze before the tortellini completely cooks (especially if using fresh pasta)? Love a pasta soup but don't like a soggy pasta soup. Even if I half this, there is too much for me to not freeze.

Finally made it! Very good! When I tasted the soup after the boil I thought it could use a little more mushroom flavor (love them more than hobbits do). So I wizzed into a powder some leftover dried porcini mushrooms I had on hand. YUM!

SO delicious! Boyfriend ate two bowls in no time flat! I sauteed the veggies then made the rest in my crock pot between work and a meeting. Cooked on high with all but the tortellini for about an hour then on low with them for another hour. Amazing! Thanks Gina!

I just made this tonight. So good! All three kids(9,7 & 6) liked it, which is really saying something. I wasn't sure about not browning the celery, onion, carrots and garlic, but it turned out great. I'm sure it would have been even more delicious with the parm rind, but I didn't have one, so I omitted. Thanks for sharing this gem. We will be having a tasty lunch tomorrow and making this again and again :-D

My husband and I didn't think we liked mushrooms. Now I'm questioning everything because we loved this soup! Gina, you have such a knack for creating tasty recipes that push me to try things I otherwise wouldn't have. And I'm always willing to because I always trust it will be good!

I have yet to make anything I don't like from your site. Can't wait for the cookbook.

Such an inventive soup! I would have never thought of including tortellini in soup, but wow did it make it amazing! Love the mixed variety of mushrooms too, just perfect. Keep these gems coming...always look forward to your delicious recipes.

OH, I meant to say that I added fresh basil, thyme and some local summer tomatoes that I canned in August. I am sure it would have been great as it was written, but I loved the heartiness the tomatoes added.

very good - however, i had a problem with liquid - was it just me, i weighed 5 oz shiitakes and sliced and 8 oz cremini and sliced, but it seemed there wasn't enough liquid. i kept adding more water. flavor was delicious though! - Maki

Made this tonight, and my hubby & I love it! I added a bit of concentrated chicken stock flavor to "beef" of the flavor a bit as well as some Penzey's Spices Herbes de Provence. I also threw a handful of spinach on top right before serving to wilt into the soup. This plus your "creamy" mushroom soup have been two of our favorite soups this winter! I L.O.V.E. your blog & recipes!

I made this last night and it was amazing! The flavor was wonderful!! The only issue I had was that the tortellini sucked up all of the liquid. There was almost no liquid left after cooking the tortellini. I used the 8 cups chicken broth and 2 cups water. Would you recommend adding more water? I am afraid that adding more water would dilute the amazing flavor. Any suggestions??

What an awesome recipe!! I made this for dinner last night and it got rave reviews. My 5 year old daughter even enjoyed hers! This soup was easy to make and fully flavored. Served with warm bread it was a wonderful snowy evening dinner!

Another winner! I made this last night and everyone loved it. I added half a bag of baby spinach towards the end, doubled the carrots and celery (took a little longer to cook than the original recipe states), used chicken tortellini, and served with crusty multigrain bread. My friends all think I'm this healthy gourmet cook because I make your recipes all the time, so thank you! ;)

I made this last night and my husband LOVED it! The only thing I did different was add less broth, as we like "thicker" soups. Its possible I added a splash of white wine too. Thank you so much for the great recipe Gina!

I've been making your recipes for almost 6 months now and I credit you for my 40 pound weight loss. You made me fall in love with cooking and I absolutely appreciate all the effort it must take to run your blog.

With that said, I had to finally comment on this soup. I've always hated making soup... For one reason or another I always mess up. But I followed your recipe and it turned out absolutely AMAZING. Seriously this was phenomenal. Only added some fresh basil at the end!

I was wondering about the serving size here, because it seems as if there could be a wide calorie range per serving depending on how many tortellini end up in your bowl. I estimated that there are about 5 per serving to stay in the 136 calorie ballpark, hope I did the math right!

i cut the rind off the hunk of parmesan i had in the fridge! Since finding gina's site, I've gotten in the habit of saving them since several of her recipes suggest tossing them in (not just parmesan either, pecorino and other hard cheeses too) I also second the comment by Jenny M, i have seen "just the rind" packages at whole foods near me.

This soup is amazing!! I made it without the parmesan rind. My fiance is a food snob and he absolutely loved it :) This blog is seriously making weight watchers so much more enjoyable for us.. thank you!

I'm not a HUGE mushroom fan, but I just made this soup because it sounded so good, and it definitely is delicious! I'm very excited for your cookbook as well - your blog is one of the few places I regularly go for new recipes!

This is delicious! I omitted the Parm. rind simply because I live in a small town and no one carries fresh Parm here. :( I'll get it for sure when I go to a larger city so I can see how it tastes with it. Also, no one carries Shitakes here so I had to subsitute button mushrooms. I was going to use a little bit of shredded Parm (from the bag) since I didn't have fresh and I forgot. It was delicious without. Also, my store only had two cheese frozen tortellini, but it worked just fine! I'm posting this on FB and Pinterest right after this comment.

I just found your blog three or four days ago and I really love it. This is the first recipe for me to try, but I know I'll be trying more.

I made this last night and I think it's my favorite thing I've made from your site so far! It turned out so great, I'm having it for breakfast. I wanted to make it vegetarian so I used veggie broth and did not add cheese rind. I also added a half a bag of baby spinach at the end. I couldn't find the type of pasta you suggested, so I just used Barilla 3 cheese tortellini. Thank you!

I just made this and your spinach tortellini. I ate a bowl of the spinach tortellini soup while the three cheese one cooked. The house smells great and these soups are so low in points. My spinach soup came out to 5, probably cause I couldn't find a rind and added a point of cheese to each serving. Love it.

This is by far my favorite soup. Tonight was the second time making it and I loved it even more this time. It's gotta be the shitakes that make it so darned delicious! Thank you for sharing...this is a truly beautiful soup!

This recipe was a huge hit!! So easy and delicious! Thank you so much for all the recipes on the site. We found you about 2 months ago, and my boyfriend has lost 30lbs since. I cannot wait for the cookbook - I am dreaming about the shrimp and grits!

I'm very picky about the soup I like to eat but I made this a couple of days ago (and I'm eating it for my lunch right now!) and it is probably one of the best soups I've ever had! I am in love with it. What a killer recipe!

This soup is my lunch all week, and I couldn't be happier with it! I didn't have a rind to throw in, but did put just a little bit of cheese in while it was simmering. Yum yum, so happy to have another recipe for the lunch rotation.

is it possible to make this in the crockpot, if so, when would you add the tortellini so it doesn't get over done, also if adding fresh spinach when would that go in crockpot. Gina, I LOVE your blog and cookbook! it is my go to site